Fin Antenna

[moonknight]

Hey guys, where can I get one of those shark/dolphin fin antennas? I'm thinking it would be a nice and simple mod for me to do. Is there an official one from Toyota? If not, does anyone know where I can get the one in this picture?

[tarquin]

It depends if the fin antenna has an active amplifier, if so then it will need to be fed with 12v from the ignition. Best ask Taz as he had one fitted. and can tell you what his guy's did to couple to the existing connection . It maybe that you have to pull the roof lining down to gain access to the connection.

David

[DFish]

Looking at Taz's build thread (post 14 link below) its just a bolt no, so no power required.

http://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=131773&view=findpost&p=1173639

Fish

[tarquin]

Should of looked first. Taz's one came from Beat Sonic and is held in place with 3M tape. There is a helical wire and is held to the existing threaded stud with a M5 screw..I have fitted them to cars i have had. Its fine for FM but if the radio isn't that sensitive (hence long aerials ) then AM is poor. If you use one that has a pre-amp, then generally its ok again on AM but the strong FM signal swamps the radio causing multiple signals of the same station up and down the band. This is called cross modulation a product of superheterodyne. You can't reduce the FM without loosing sensitivity on AM. Now I know your going to say " Who listens to AM now?" well Some still do and in fact I have broadcast on AM 1350 kHz for a restricted service license. Yea I know " HELLO"

David

[surfcitylocal]

I actually didn't lose any reception on AM. I have the HD Radio upgrade and it still pulls in the signal fine.

I have heard of some older cars with reception problems but the iQ is doing great.

Eric at Beat-Sonic is a great guy if you would like to talk to him about an antenna. There is a smaller version that will fit the iQ as well.

www.beatsonicusa.com

[Guest]

I like the carbon fibre effect version, and at $109 US to £69 GBP, that's pretty good. Of course, don't know what the shipping costs would be. I think I'm going to have to start some smooth talking with my wife. Hopefully she will also like the carbon effect aerial. Now then, how to sell it to her... thinking, thinking...

:help2:

[moonknight]

I actually didn't lose any reception on AM. I have the HD Radio upgrade and it still pulls in the signal fine.

I have heard of some older cars with reception problems but the iQ is doing great.

Eric at Beat-Sonic is a great guy if you would like to talk to him about an antenna. There is a smaller version that will fit the iQ as well.

www.beatsonicusa.com

Which one is the smaller version? Is it the FDA5? Also what is the HD Radio upgrade? If I don't have that will I lose reception with these antennas?

[surfcitylocal]

I actually didn't lose any reception on AM. I have the HD Radio upgrade and it still pulls in the signal fine. I have heard of some older cars with reception problems but the iQ is doing great. Eric at Beat-Sonic is a great guy if you would like to talk to him about an antenna. There is a smaller version that will fit the iQ as well. www.beatsonicusa.com

Which one is the smaller version? Is it the FDA5? Also what is the HD Radio upgrade? If I don't have that will I lose reception with these antennas?

I asked Eric and he said that this is the smaller of the two antennas for the iQ...

http://www.beatsonicusa.com/shark-fin-antennas/toyota-scion/xb-xd/beat-sonic-fda51-functional-shark-fin-antenna.html

I believe you are correct!

The HD Radio came with my Navi unit. You don't require that to receive AM signals. I have found that the Shark Fin works great with both regular AM/FM and HD AM/FM.

[moonknight]

I actually didn't lose any reception on AM. I have the HD Radio upgrade and it still pulls in the signal fine. I have heard of some older cars with reception problems but the iQ is doing great. Eric at Beat-Sonic is a great guy if you would like to talk to him about an antenna. There is a smaller version that will fit the iQ as well. www.beatsonicusa.com

Which one is the smaller version? Is it the FDA5? Also what is the HD Radio upgrade? If I don't have that will I lose reception with these antennas?

I asked Eric and he said that this is the smaller of the two antennas for the iQ...

http://www.beatsonic...in-antenna.html

I believe you are correct!

The HD Radio came with my Navi unit. You don't require that to receive AM signals. I have found that the Shark Fin works great with both regular AM/FM and HD AM/FM.

Hey Taz, that's your car in my first post right? Which model antenna is that? That one already looks pretty small. You think the FDA5 will be too small? But smaller might look better on the iQ.. Are you planning to get the FDA5 too?

[tarquin]

Just for those people who may be wondering about HD AM/FM radio. In the UK wa have DAB and for those of us that have a TNS510, we can fit a DAB module but it does require another aerial as well.. The FCC in the states opted for a Hybrid Digital transmission (HD) not to be confused with HD High Definition TV. They broadcast along with the analogue signal on both AM and FM a Digital carrier which carries audio up to 15khz which is a big quality increase on AM MW. In the states the AM band is 10khz allocation for each station where here in europe it is 9khz meaning the highest audio tone in music that you can hear on AM is 4.5khz which is not much more than you can hear down a telephone line!. If this Hybrid system was implemented here it would bring a new lease of life to the Medium wave band rather than let it go into decline jumped down off my soap box now..

David

[DFish]

I wish we could receive the XM system over here. My last hire car had it, and there's some great stations on it.

Fish

[tarquin]

It would be great Dan. Like you it was on my hire car. And a great variety of choice. Its difficult here to impliment because unlike the states, we have Europe and as sky have found you cant control the footprint accuratly hence grey sky cards being used in the clubs and bars in Spain.

David

[surfcitylocal]

It would be great Dan. Like you it was on my hire car. And a great variety of choice. Its difficult here to impliment because unlike the states, we have Europe and as sky have found you cant control the footprint accuratly hence grey sky cards being used in the clubs and bars in Spain. David

David, I have no idea what that means. For us US residents can you explain what a grey sky card is?

[tarquin]

Tes Taz

The most popular satellite TV system in the UK is Sky Television and because there is a lot of material that is licensed for viewing in the UK only,the Astra satellite has a transmission "footprint designed to cover only the UK with viewers using only a 40cm Dish. Now because Radio propagation is not an exact science, it also overlaps into the nearest European countries. By using a 3ft dish it can be viewed as far away as Spain, a popular tourist spot for British holiday makers. Now Sky is encrypted with Mediagard encryption and is very secure.To attract UK Holiday makers into the clubs and pubs they try to out do each other by offering UK TV etc. So they pay people to subscribe in the UK and send the smart card out to Spain and pay for it from a UK bank account. This is called 'Grey activity " as its not legal and its not illegal kind of in between, neither black nor white. Hope that helps

David

[DFish]

The only shows worth watching are shown by HBO and Showtime, so you're not missing anything Taz.

Fish

[surfcitylocal]

Thanks Guys. It sounds like the old Direct TV we used to have here. Not controlled by the Government but it did require a card to work. There was a time when "black market" cards were selling like hot cakes. They use a different system now. I have both HBO and Showtime Fish so I guess you're right, I'm not missing much. I get the great Japanese game shows on the internet as well. LOL